SEO Content Page – Sales Management

Key aspects of effective data-driven sales management include examining the historical pipeline to present accurate sales forecasts, monitoring the performances of sales reps to diagnose where improvements might be needed and regularly studying the sales funnel to ensure that there are no leaks resulting in missed opportunities. Here are some important sales management aspects that sales managers should keep in mind.

Rep activity conversions
An overarching aspect of sales management is in training, mentoring and leading your team of sales reps. Instead of just tracking the volume of activities that a sales rep makes everyday, managers should look at the conversion ratios of these activities, i.e. how many calls lead to productive connections that lead to deals. Managers can then focus their coaching efforts on the reps who need it the most, based upon this data analysis.

Sales funnelmanagementSales management includes properly managing the sales funnel. While there is no set template for sales funnels, the best ones regularly maintain the funnel shape, with smooth gradients all the way down, while having each stage mapped directly to the corresponding point in the buyer’s process. Studying prospects as they progress through stages – as well as the conversion ratios from stage to stage – lets managers know where the holes in their funnels are and on what specific stages reps require the most coaching.

Won/Lost % over timeSales management is all about converting as many opportunities as possible into deals. A company’s growth trajectory should always be pointing in the right direction, and it’s up to a sales manager to take the necessary steps – acquiring higher-quality leads, coaching reps to be more productive – if the company’s sales are struggling. Looking at the historic won/lost report over time lets managers know if they are hitting their sales goals or not.

Effective sales management comprises a host of different aspects, but each of these features can make the difference between a successful sales team and one that repeatedly fails to hit its goals and grow revenue. InsightSquared offers numerous sales analytics and sales reporting features to assist with sales management.